The army has been put on alert as the foot and mouth crisis deepens, with a new case detected on Dartmoor on Sunday.

The NFU says the mood is hitting "near hysteria" as MAFF has confirmed that the total number of cases across the UK has hit 69.

The army is to be drafted in to round-up the 34,000 livestock which roam Dartmoor. The outbreak on the moor has raised the potential of a "nightmare scenario", it has been claimed.

This week will see licensed livestock being moved for slaughter in a bid to get food through to supermarkets to beat possible meat shortages. Some predict, however, that British meat could "run out in days".

MAFF is suggesting that measures taken to contain the disease are having an impact although farmers are warning of potential financial disaster as a result of the crisis. Evidence is mounting that the outbreak is now slowing in comparison to 1967.

Over the weekend it was claimed that the virus could have entered the UK in illegal shipments of livestock - a move which prompted calls from Tories for a ban in the import of meat from countries affected by the virus.